imported_Phil Knapp

Hey, my memory is shot too. My lift is currently occupied by the '41 Zephyr convertible project car. However, the holes in the photos don't look like they were done at the factory. With a little more effort, they COULD have been done to appear to be factory, but that square hole in pictures 3 and 4 looks pretty crude to me. I tried to use a little more finesse when I was routing the brake tubing for my power brake booster installation. Compare the attached photos.

Well, here's how they did it on my '41 Continental. Bear in mind, this is a mostly original unmolested car - NOT a spiffy undercarrige!

Nice job, Jeff. Did you just install them? What kind of mufflers are you using? Do you think they improve performance? Your HUGE bitmap photo took a while to download on my dial-up line. I had time for two games of Freecell while I waited for it. Here's what one of the previous owners put on my '41 Continental before I got it. I know, wrong rear window and top configuration. The wide rear window DOES provide better visibility. Nobody but us 'purists' know that it's incorrect! Most people that see the car have never seen one before. The glasspak mufflers were also on the car and have a pretty sharp 'rap'.

Hi Rolf, Got the picture. I took the liberty of brightening it up a bit. Here are two versions. apparently the photo process doesn't like spaces in the title either.

You're in luck Zoot, Just check out my post #491483 - 03/02/08 (Early LCOC Bulletin #2 - March, 1953) a bit farther down on this page. Production statistics are shown on page 2 of the attachments. I can't vouch for the accuracy of this data, it's 54 years old. We now know that there were only 2 1939 Cabriolets produced and only 54 Coupes produced in 1940. If you're interested, I can put you in touch with all 20 issues of the earliest LCOC bulletins (1953-1955) for a nominal fee. Fascinating historical information.

I seem to remember Bill Hirsch advertising correct paint colors. He used to sell complete 'correct' convertible tops in Harrtz cloth but I haven't seen anything from him for a while - probably because I haven't been looking. It might be worth an inquiry.

It has just occurred to me that there is space enough on a CD to include ALL of the .jpg files of these LCOC bulletins. JPG files are a bit harder to view (you can view only one page at a time and they’re a little tricky to print) but if you have a problem with the Adobe PDF or Microsoft Publisher formats I can send you a CD with all 71 .jpg images on it. The 'Bulletin' became 'Continental Comments' in issue #13, May, 1954.

Looks like nice stuff, Chris. May I suggest that, to facilitate quicker downloads for those of us dinosaurs still running dial-up connections, that you resize your photos to 640x480 resolution .jpg files. Try to avoid using bitmaps - they're *WAY* too big. 640x480 resolution files will display directly following the text and will not require extra space in the message. I have found that the only way to be sure to include a description on your photos is to insert the description *BEFORE* browsing and adding the photos. Example:

Hey Jeff, I will send Harry's CD out tomorrow (02/06). I have your CD ready but I need a confirmation of your mailing address. Is the listing in the LZOC diectory still current? I know I didn't specify an amount for these bulletins. However, after putting a pencil to it, I think that the information contained in the early newsletters is a steal at $20.00 for a CD containing bulletins 1 through 20, including the special issue for the first meet in Dearborn in 1954. The CD contains the bulletins in both Adobe PDF format and Microsoft Publisher format. If that’s OK with you, you can do PayPal to kcd@texas.net or put a check in the mail to my current address in the LZOC directory. Don't forget - I’ll need your mailing address.

The very first time I drove my newly acquied '41 Continental to the local cruise-in which was infested with new Corvettes, Mustangs (I don't go to that one any more!), a guy walked casually past my open hood and commented: "That's the WORST engine Ford ever built". I replied: "Well, maybe so, but it's 66 years old, original, and still drives down the road. Where will your Chevy be in 66 years"? I rest my case.

I have recently acquired a large collection of early LCOC bulletins written by Dr. Elliston Bell, founder of LCOC. I have made PDFs out of the first 20 bulletins - including the special one covering the initial LCOC meet at Dearborn in October, 1954. If anyone is interested in these fascinating historical documents, I can copy them to a CD and mail them to you. I'll need a little help with postage and materials - whatever you think is fair. After putting a pencil to it, the cost of materials: i.e. blank discs, containers, envelopes, postage and trips to the PO (@ $3+ per gallon) begin to add up. Not to mention the time involved in scanning each page, enhancing them with Adobe PhotoShop, constructing the Microsoft Publisher documents, then converting them to PDFs etc. So $20 each doesn’t seem to be out of line. I’m certainly not planning to get rich on this project and I enjoy sharing the interesting historical information.

I have recently acquired a large collection of early LCOC bulletins written by Dr. Elliston Bell, founder of LCOC. I have made PDFs out of the first 20 - including the special one covering the initial LCOC meet at Dearborn in October, 1954. If anyone is interested in these fascinating historical documents, I will copy them to a CD and (USPS) mail them to you. I'll need a little help with postage and materials - whatever you think is fair.

Ergonomics was not high on the list of the auto manufacturers priorities in those years. My '41 Continental convertible is probably the WORST ergonomically designed car I have ever owned. These are just a few examples of the non-ergonomic design. 1. The sun visor hits the rear view mirror when you put it down. 2. The outside rear view mirrors are practically useless. I can't even SEE the right side mirror. 3. The tiny rear window and blind rear quarters make the car nearly impossible to back up. Fortunately, my car currently has an incorrect, but w-i-d-e plastic rear window and it still isn't easy to back up. 4. The front seat was all the way back when I got the car and I could just barely get into the car. (Factory position). I relocated the seat track back four inches and now I can get in and out comfortably. However, the rear seat leg room just went away. Nobody ever sits there anyway! 5. The trunk is the most difficult to load of any car I've owned and the spare tire is so cumbersome to remove that it's only for decoration. Carrying a REAL spare tire in the trunk practically eliminates the trunk space. 6. NO CUP HOLDERS! Why has such an impractical car survived in such impressive numbers while the *MUCH* more practical Lincoln Zephyr in nearly extinct? Because it's **KOOOL**!!

Looks really nice Rolf!

I sent this message to "leftcoastclassics", "Super nice car! Too bad about the moth damage. I wish my 1947 Continental Coupe looked this good." "However, I question your AIC (Automotive Information Clearinghouse) statistics about there being only 8 of these Continental Coupes in the country and 3 in the state of California. My 2007 Lincoln Continental Owners Club membership directory lists eighty-two (82) 1947 Continental Coupes and fifty-three (53) 1947 Cabriolets in California ALONE!" His response was: "Thanks, I will check that out!" He has already received several corrections to the V-16 issue. (Following is not part of my mesage to leftcoastclassics) The front seat back upholstery is as close to correct as anything I have seen recently. Most upholsterers carry the piping all the way over the bolster. It's probably easier for the upholsterer that way, but it's not correct for a concours restoration.

Thanks for the link Jeff. I don't know how I missed seeing it. They are item number: 260213449156 As I suspected, the hinges have been cut out from inside the car. Good luck to anybody attempting to re-install them and get the door properly aligned! They appear to be for the left front (or right rear) door.

Hey Jeff, You wouldn't happen to have an item number for this door hinge would you? I looked for 'Lincoln Zephyr' on the bay, but found no door hinge. A search for '41 door hinge' brings up a Cadillac hinge. I don't need one, but I wonder what this guy is selling and how he removed it from the car (if it really IS a Zephyr). The door hinges just DO NOT come out of a 40-48 Zephyr!

I didn't find any Zephyrs on the 'Memory Lane' site either. There's a 'Memory Lane' wrecking yard in Los Angeles where all the collectable cars from 'Pick-Your-Part' go. The Portland Memory Lane operation obviously has nothing to do with a wrecking yard! There are a couple of Continental coupes at the Portland Memory Lane though. A nice '41 at: http://www.memorylaneclassiccars.com/1941lincoln/1941_lincoln_continental_v12_cou.htm And a pretty nice '42 with post-war bumpers and hood ornament at: http://www.memorylaneclassiccars.com/42lincoln/1942_lincoln_continental_coupe_v.htm Both cars have interesting non-original air cleaners. They seem to be priced quite reasonably. The '41 could be the car for Mr Peecher.

Here you go Harley, Ebay Item number: 110222982794 has met the reserve and is priced reasonably at this time, but there's 9 hours left to go. My bet is that it will bring close to $1000. Anybody want to get into the pool?

This one brought $65K. Probably not a bad deal.

Yeah, cheap is good (free is better) but in the imperfect world we live in ya gotta pay for what you want. Although you always HOPE to 'get what you pay for' even that's not always the case. However, you will NEVER get what you DON'T pay for!

Hey Jeff, Thanks for the link to the Continental air filter on ebay. As you probably already know, "partss-56" is Bob Anderson, restorer and owner of the one-and-only 1939 Continental prototype. We took a trip to Hershey in 2002 to see that car. Take a look at the Webshots photo album of it at: http://community.webshots.com/album/52823282UhMRLv It's gorgeous! This will not be a cheap part because Bob Anderson has some EXCELLENT stuff, but you can be sure that it will be RIGHT. That's Bob Anderson next to the car. Next to Bob is Den Fenske, the current owner and restorer of the '47 Continental I owned in 1967. Visible behind Den is Dave Cole.

These things pop up on ebay from time to time. Just keep watching. Since you are looking for one, it may be a while - Murphy's Law you know. One thing for sure is that it won't be cheap! You might post an ad in the "Parts Wanted" section at www.lzoc.com Ads tend to stay there forever because nobody ever seems to tell the web site manager to cancel them!

I doubt if any Ford product had 5 1/2 bolt circle wheels in the 80's. If all you want is some wheels to roll the car around on, probably your best bet would be a Ford F-100 or 150 pickup. Ford pickups retained the 5 1/2 inch bolt circle longer than any of the passenger cars. Check your local wrecking yards.

Almost any 1940-50 Ford wheel with a 5 1/2 inch bolt circle will fit. However, there are three different ways of attaching the hubcaps. All V-12 Lincolns had 5 hubcap clips. Fords and Mercurys used either little nubs which the hubcap snapped INTO or outward protrusions that the hubcap snapped OVER. I used 1956-57 Lincoln wheels which are 15x6 inches (one inch wider than stock 42-48 Lincolns) on my '47 Continental. These wheels have NO hubcap attachments because those cars used full wheel covers. I bolted 1939 Ford hubcap clips on the wheels and the original Lincoln hubcaps snap right in. Radial tires work well on these wheels.